To Fly
by Winter Tiger
Summary: Maximum Ride is a mermaid princess who lives underwater in her mother's castle. Everyday, she's bullied because of her beautiful angel wings. To everyone, she is a freak. Finally, she can't take it anymore and simply leaves the water forever-by cutting her hair. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**To Fly**

**This was actually inspired by a picture I drew. :P**

I've always known I wasn't a normal mermaid. The others were always better at swimming than me. Better at singing. Art. Communicating with fish. Their tails were solid colors. They had webbing between fingers, and fish would never ignore them.

I sucked at everything. Fish almost always misunderstood me. I had no webbing at all. My tail was purple-ish, but it'd look all rainbow-y in the sun. Underwater, it sparkled. And besides, my wings were a dead giveaway. I was not a normal mermaid by any means.

I used to hide them by wearing what humans called backpacks. But they grew too big, so now I don't really care anymore. Who cares? Uniqueness is good, right? ...Who am I kidding?

I will never fit into 'mermaid society'. I will never sing good enough to be in the choir group. I showed everyone at tryouts. The few times I used magic, people had weird parts sticking out for weeks.

Once, my instructor had me try out for academics. Failed. Enough said.

Being a princess doesn't help at all. I can't ever just disappear. The mean girls whisper behind my back about Queen Martinez, my mother. They say she went and had an affair with a human-or worse, an angel- and that was why my dad left her.

Like those girls at that clump of shells are doing right now.

"Ooooh, look," they sneer just loud enough for me to hear. "There's the angel."

I almost flinch. An angel is the worst thing to call a mermaid-ever. To them, clouds and water were never meant to mix. But I love the clouds. They are so beautiful.

I see Maya, my popular twin, surrounded by her fans. She gets a lot of attention around here. She's the second closest to inherit the throne because she hatched a few seconds earlier. Unlike me, she's the normal one. She's good at choir, gets one hundred percents in academics, and her magic is beautiful. She's just the snobbish, conceited, arrogant one everyone else loves.

The crown princess is Ella. She's slightly nicer, but aloof. All that princess training sets her apart. In a way, she's lonely too. But at least nobody tries to push her into random, strong currents or call her names.

I put my seaweed scroll down in magic class with a sigh. My hair is so long, it always gets in my face so I tie it back with a string of pearls. I've always wanted to cut it, but we can't. Nobody can. If they do, they lose their tails and webbing. I sometimes consider cutting it. I don't ever do it, though. It's not that I don't have the guts. It's just the ocean is all I've ever known. What would I do in the air.

The day passes by in a blur yet again. It's even more boring for me because I suck at everything.

By the time I get back to the palace from taking a detour at the dolphins' coral reef to avoid the bullies, Maya's done with her magic practice and floats off to whatever party she was invited to.

She flips her hair into my face as she goes past. "See you later, sucker," she sneers. My mom, right next to us, doesn't seem to notice. Like always.

"Max, start shaping up," she says, looking through some papers. My heart sinks as I realize she's holding my reports. "How could you get such horrible scores? I mean, look at Maya's. Perfect in everything. Even Ella's better and she doesn't go everyday. What am I going to do..?" she sighs and bubbles float out of her mouth.

I try to ignore the burning in my heart. I can't cry, but sometimes I wish I could. I once saw a human sitting at the waters edge crying. I sigh, too, and head to my room. I start working on my homework, but I keep getting distracted by thoughts of flying, or at least getting out of the water.

That is the only thing I am good at. I can jump twice as high out of the water as everyone. I can stay in the air the longest without drying up. And I'm the only one who can fly.

I smile and swim quietly to my chest. It holds my clothes, and I pick up my human one. It's only a t-shirt, because I can't put pants on my tail. Then I sneak out the window and swim quickly towards the surface. That seems to be another thing I'm good at. I can swim twice as fast as everyone else.

We only live a few miles underwater, so I get to the surface in seconds. The water slowly changes from the dark blue I live in to light turquoise. I pop my head out and look around cautiously before I slip on the t-shirt and propel myself outward. I gather my tail into my arms as soon as I'm in the air.

To other mermaids or humans, I'd look like I was hang gliding. Very far out at sea, but still. Unless a boat passed by right under me, no one would be able to notice.

I start to forget all my worries as the wind brushes past my cheek, caressing my hair and drying it. I can feel it run through my feathers, weave through my scales. I let out a laugh and watch the seawater fly off of me in shining droplets.

I close my eyes and just fly really fast, using my built in GPS to see if I'm near land. Whenever I get within a few miles of California or Mexico, I turn the other way. Eventually, my skin is too dry and I have to get back into the water. I glance back at the sky one more time before I do a perfect dive into the water.

I look around me, confused. This doesn't seem to be anywhere hear the palace. The seaweed that waves in the slight current actually look creepy. There are random pieces of obsidian sticking up everywhere.

"Hello, little one." The wheezy voice comes from nowhere.

I spin around, but there's only empty, dark water everywhere.

"Don't be afraid." The undeniably female voice chuckles, but there's a rough edge to it. "I'm sorry to freak you out. I'm down here."

I look down and there, at my feet, is an...eel. I'm sure my confusion shows in the way I blink a few times.

The eel sighs. "_Everyone _has the _exact_ same reaction!" She swims in circles a few times. I wait for her to calm down. "Oh, well. Hello! I'm Ursula. A few years ago, I got transformed into an eel because I tried to cut my hair. I mean, it worked, but then I fell in love, tried to come back, traded my voice too-did you know, I had the best voice for centuries!- and it _didn't work._ I'm so pissed!"

I gape. "You're Ursula?" I finally gasp. "You disappeared fifteen years ago!"

"Yup," the eel sighs sadly. "But, since you're here, you'll break the spell for me, right?" I never thought an eel could look hopeful, but this one can. Despite my tough attitude, I actually have a really soft heart.

"Ok," I say, "just tell me what to do."

"Yipeeeeeeeeee!" Ursula swims all around, creating a mini whirlpool. "But, you do realize you can't come back after, right?" She suddenly stops right in front of me.

The solution to all my troubles, suddenly laid out in plain sight right in front of me. I can help someone while getting out of here forever. I grin. "Let's do this."

**Review?**


	2. Chapter 2

**To Fly**

I look up at the twisted rock formations through the surface of the water anxiously. "Are you sure this is the right way?"

Ursula swims in another circle. "Of course. It's the way I went out."

"Umm... Ok then." Would it be impolite if I said, you kind of messed up and stuff so I probably shouldn't trust you too much?

I take a deep breath and grab some hair. And then let it go. "I can't do this. I mean, what do I do to eat? How do I act? What do-" I cut myself off when I begin to hyperventilate.

"Oh, it's fine, you can use my apartment. Room 21, big pink building on the closest island," Ursula waves her fin dismissively. "Now, are you going or not?" She looks around rather anxiously.

"Ok, ok," I say. I gather all my hair into one hand. "How long? Shoulder length, maybe?" I push my anxiety down into the back of my mind.

"Yes, just do it! And give me the shell you used to cut your hair as soon as possible. I'm really tired of being an eel." Ursula explained that if she held the thing used to cut my hair, it would turn her back into a mermaid. Again, she glances around agitatedly.

I try to ignore the paranoid voice in my head telling me to beware, to get away from this danger. Maybe she's just looking for humans, I argue with myself. Maybe she doesn't want any nearby fish telling my mom about it.

I raise the shell determinedly and start sawing. As the first strands are cut, I start feeling tingly all over. I poke my head out of the water. Ursula darts around, collecting the few locks that drop. "That's it!" I hear her mutter. "Keep on cutting."

Sparkles float in the air around me. I cut some more. By the time the last strand falls away, it's so bright I can't see. I close my eyes and wait.

"Magnificent!" I frown. That didn't sound like Ursula. The voice was much too loud, musical, and bubbly.

"Max, dear you can look now," the same voice says again. "Oh, but don't forget to breathe before you poke your head down here. Remember you don't have gills anymore. Wow, look at your legs! You could be a supermodel!"

I look down at the two white, long, stick-like things where my tail used to be. They kick automatically, keeping my head above the water.

A flash of green catches my attention. "Whee!" I see a beautiful mermaid flitting around me.

"Ursula?" my voice sounds weird to my new, weaker human ears.

"It's me!"

She stops right under me. Her face is almost as beautiful as Ella's. It's perfectly shaped and proportioned, with long eyelashes, pale skin, and golden-brown hair. Her dark eyes twinkle at me from under the water.

Her face looks a lot like Maya's, which means a lot like mine, except for the hair and eye color.

"Come down here, Max, and take a good look," she says, so I take a deep breath and stick my head under.

"It's so refreshing to have hands!" she stretches her arms out around me and pulls me into a hug. Her twinkling laugh sounds in my ears. "Ah, thank you, dear." Her arms tighten. "If there is anything I can do, just call and tell me," she whispers in my ear.

_Arms too tight_, my paranoid voice whispers. _Why are they so tight? Crushing out the air_.

A peculiar burning begins in my lungs. I remember my new lack of gills. "Need...breath..." I manage to choke out, bubbles obscuring my vision. So I must have just thought I saw her expression turn nasty for a moment.

"So sorry, I forgot, dear." Her arms finally loosen. As I kick towards the surface, I think I hear her whisper, "I did say anything, after all."

Mermaids can't break promises.

xxXxx

I stumble towards a rock on the beach after Ursula disappears to who-knows-where, trying out my legs in my new, weird human clothes. Good thing there was no one around this early in the day. At least I get the hang of it after half an hour staggering like a drunken seal, or something.

But there's so much to see. The sky is so blue, the sun so bright, and I don't need to submerge in the water at all. And it's so weird, being dry. I actually like it.

A clatter of dropping rocks catches my attention. A shadow's outlined against a cliff. For a second I think he's a human, and I hide behind a rock. But then I see his wings. They're black and huge even lying flat against his back.

"You're...like me," I breathe, staring up at him. I blink, and suddenly he's standing in front of me. No sound at all. It's actually kind of creepy.

"Hmmmmm," he says slowly. "Those are actually real wings. And they're white. Pure white. What did that mean agin? In the books...let's see...the ranks..." he suddenly gasps and looks at my wings again. "Are you really Max?"

I blink again. _What the heck?_

**Haha! I finally updated! I finished Nevermore like last week. So awesome! So to celebrate I wrote a new chapter! :P Thanks so much for reviewing.**


	3. Chapter 3

_How does this guy know my name...?_ I think. _And how the heck does he have wings too?_

He's staring at me now, as if expecting me to say something. "Well?" he finally asks, after a few minutes of us staring at each other.

"Um." My voice comes out as a strangled squeak. I clear my throat. "Yeah, I'm Max. Who are you?" There, my tough facade up again.

"Fang. King Jeb's ambassador to the humans."

So Jeb was a king? "If Jeb really is a king, what is he the king of?"

"Heaven."

That...actually made some sense. That must be why he left my mom. Meh. I didn't really care anyways. "So how do you know my name?"

"There's this council of unicorns that make prophecies, and they predicted that an angel with white wings was going to be born. Her name was going to be Max. They didn't tell everyone. Only my family, 'cause we're so close to the king and all."

He leans a little closer and makes a face. "Didn't mention anything about half-mermaids, though. You stink."

_Excuse me?_ Pissed-off mode is now on.

I turn and stomp off towards the general direction of the waking city.

"No! Max! Wait."

I stop but I don't turn around.

"I didn't mean it like that. It's just, normal angels don't like the smell of ocean and fish. C'mon, the souls and angels in heaven need you, even though you'll stink up the whole place."

_And there he goes insulting you again_, whispered a voice in my head. Sure, that's probably not normal-humans probably call it delusional- but this voice has been saving me for years. Like the time it warned me of that motorboat that almost chopped off my tail.

So I shake my head, hide my wings under my shirt, and keep on walking, leaving Fang standing there.

xxXxx

The moment I step onto Main Street, a race car _vrooooooms_ past me and almost knocks me over. A truck carrying lots of people and cameras turns the corner seconds later.

They both stop when a shout of "Cut!" rings out. A guy sitting across the street holding a red megaphone walks up to me. "What're you doing here, girl?"

I can't help but notice his face is an interesting shade of purple mixed with red.

"...looking around?"

"Oh! You lookin' for an actin' job then? We did post an awful lot of notices. Though I guess Lissa forgot to put the meeting place on them. Damn, I should fire her."

I guess a job would be more normal than wandering around. Heck, why not? "Yup. I want a role in the..." _Movie_, my voice supplies. "Movie."

He studies me closely. "I guess you'll do. Maybe. We'll get you auditioned."

**A/N: Yeah, not the best chapter I've written...whatevs. And sorry for the shortness...**

**Next update: Thanksgiving!**

**Thank you so much for reviewing! You guys make me so happy :)**


	4. Chapter 4

"Next!" Why is it that wherever I go, there are shouty, annoying people?

I try not to fidget on my chair backstage. I had to ride in a car, two buses, and a subway-I will never get on one ever again- just to get to this theater. It's all modern and huge with lots of glass and flimsy pieces of steel. Way bigger than my mother's castle.

The buildings here are all bigger than the ones below, though. Even the normal people's houses are bigger than most of the rich Mer-peoples.

"Hi there!" a voice shouts in my ear. "I'm Nudge. Are you auditioning too? Cuz I am. And I'm the makeup artists assistant, since my aunt is the fashion line owner and all. OMG, have you seen this new lipstick? It's all..."

Years of being talked about let's me tune her out. There's lots of these kinds of girls at my school, too. You just let them chatter on and they'll get to the point.

"Oh, and I got this really cute tanktop with, like, sequins..."

_Any minute now._

"And did you know that I'm auditioning for a movie for real? Oh yeah. I already told you that. So what's your name?"

"Hello. I'm Max." I give her my best smile. It came out as more of a grimace, though.

"Well, you can't audition looking like that! Let's get some makeup on you, and how about a change of clothes?"

Makeup? I shudder as my voice gives the definition, pros and cons, and a list of different kinds. Horrible stuff.

"Now, we'll start by cleaning you up, and then getting some lotion on..."

I let myself get dragged along to a row of brightly lit mirrors. This Nudge person doesn't seem at all fazed by my response, or lack thereof.

By the time she's done, my face looks exactly the same as before and it's three people until my turn.

"Now, for the clothes...take off your jacket, Max, and let's get you a tanktop or something."

"No!" I glare at her as she reaches for the zipper. "The jacket stays on."

She puts her hands on her hips. She's not even older than me, but she's lecturing? "Look, girl, in California we do not wear jackets. It's always t-shirts and tanktops. And if you're going to wear a jacket, at least get a mire stylish one. Seriously, yours is so out of style."

_California. A state in the United States of America (USA), says my voice, aka personal dictionary. You are currently on Catalina island, made to look a lot like Monte Carlo since budget cuts make it impossible to actually film there._

Ugh. Two more people to go. I don't have time for this. "Show me before, at least."

With a flourish, she presents a relatively baggy light-yellow tanktop (not like her clingy one) with matching green bracelets, green necklace, and white pants. Actually, not as bad as I expected. "Changing rooms are over there," she says brightly, pointing, before bouncing off to fix her own makeup.

I slip out of the itchy jacket-it really is hot- and then stretch my wings, letting air get to them for a moment. Then I tuck them flat against my back, and it's like they're not there anymore when I slip on the shirt.

I finally walk out just in time to hear the shouty voice call, "Max Ride! You're up!"

I actually start to feel nervous when I stand up on the stage. It's so brightly lit I can't really see the people in the audience, just three or four silhouettes, and I don't even know what I'm supposed to do.

Thankfully, one of the people answer the last one. "Now, Max, why don't you introduce yourself?"

At least his voice isn't shouty.

"Well, my name is Maximum Ride. I am sixteen years old. Nice to meet you, whoever you are."

He chuckles a little. "Like your spirit, girl. Now, have you had any experience? Commercials, plays at theaters?"

"No, just the mandatory school plays."

"Hmmm..." he says, writing it down. "Alrighty then. I'm going to give you part if a script, and I want you to act it out to the best of your abilities."

The paper had black text on it:

_Juliet: Oh Romeo, Romeo, wherefore are you Romeo?_

Just by the first line I can tell it's William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. One of the most famous plays in the Pacific Ocean. I used to act it out all the time, and this time is no different. I pretend they're not there and act out both parts.

By the time I'm done, two of the people are on their feet clapping.

"Great job," said the person who first spoke. "We are definitely considering you. Next!"

And with that, I'm dismissed to once more go wait backstage.

"Sooooo, what did they saaaaay?"

Nudge is back. Sigh.

"They said they're considering."

"Awesome!" She squeals as she hugs me. And then she starts fussing over my makeup again-apparently, it got 'smeared'- all the while chattering on and on.

"Max." The voice makes me jump. "They decided to hire you for the lead role."

"What? But doesn't that take days, Dylan?" says Nudge to the person who came up to us. He was blond and good-looking, like a super model.

He laughs a little, deep and rumbling, and ruffles her hair. "She had the best performance by fat. Even better than yours, though you did get a role."

He turns and winks at me. "You'll be my girlfriend, soon-to-be ex-girlfriend. We have a kiss scene."

I pull a face at him.

"Well, this calls for a celebration! I'll go get Iggy, Gazzy, and Angel and we can go get turkey!" She zooms off somewhere.

"Gazzy and Angel are siblings, and actors/friends. Iggy is also a friend who's the producer, editor, and cameraman," Dylan says in response to my confused look.

"But...why turkey?"

"Because today's Thanksgiving! Did you forget?"

_Thanksgiving is a holiday where people eat turkey to celebrate. Also called Turkey Day._

"Hehe..yeah..." not.

A blond guy with blue eyes comes up to me. "Hi, I'm Iggy. Nice to meet you Max." His eyes don't quite focus on me. "In case you're wondering, I'm blind." He flashes a bright smile.

Before I can respond, two more little kids come up to me.

"I'm Angel," said the girl. She was so. Freaking. Cute. And. Sweet. Especially with her bambi eyes.

Angel pointed to the boy. "That's Gazzy, my brother."

Gazzy was cute too, but quite the opposite. Not sweet at all.

He let loose a fart. "I'm Gazzy! Hello! Nice to meet you."

**A/N: Enter the Flock! Don't worry, it'll definitely be Fax! Don't expect an update till December :)**

**This is for CakeIsAGoodFriend, cutiepie5514, purpleneko16, CrazyPeanutAttack, Girl-of-the-Redwoods and all of my reviewers and readers. Happy Turkey Day!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Did I say "until December"? I meant "until After December"...**  
**I'm sorry, I meant to post this like right at 12 but I wasn't done writing it.**

**So, Merry Christmas, Happy New Years, and Happy Holidays to all :)**  
**And without further ado-my first update of 2013!**

By now- three weeks later- I'd settled into human life. Wake up at unholy hours of the morning, then brush my teeth, dress, read the script for the movie and rehearse (usually at the same time). Then came a frantic search for keys to the apartment, stuffing everything into a random bag that probably didn't match my outfit and dashing down the stairs and out the door, ignoring the garishly pink outside of the apartment.

Exactly five turns and two intersections to the local bakery, where I buy whatever I first see on the menu. My mom has a stash of human cash hidden in lots of places, for what, I don't know, but I memorized a map of the locations years ago. That money came in very handy.

The bus stop is one more street away, and then I sit for two stops before stepping off right at the movie set.

Then comes whatever hectic schedule the crew has prepared for me, getting makeup and costumes and acting.

The only cloud on this otherwise sunny day (figuratively speaking) is Fang, my stalker. I see him all the time, poking his head around corners tiptoeing from bush to bush.

For some reason, today this bane of my existence decided to block me on my way out of my rooms and have the gall to look pissed when I asked him what the heck he was doing.

"Max, don't you know what day it is?"

"December thirty-first, will you please get out of my way? I'm gonna be late!"

"Don't you see? It's New Years eve!"

"Seriously, I need to go now, ok?"

"The demons, they're going to rebel tomorrow!"

"Get out of my way, Fang, before I punch you-"

"The people of Heaven need you!" he cuts me off. "Jeb's ex-wife, Marian Jensen, is gathering demons to overthrow heaven. If you don't help us right now-"

I don't get to hear the rest of his explanation because he's flying down the stairs with a nosebleed and getting knocked out by the railing.

"Huh. Must have punched him a little too hard," I mutter to myself, and then I continue on to the bakery.

xxXxx

_Bright sunshine makes the beach turn golden, the water turquoise. Seagulls soar everywhere, and everyone is dressed in T-shirts and shorts. Except for one person._

_A man in a black coat and mask hurries down an alley, carrying a suspicious looking briefcase. He stops at a door, looks around, and then slips in. Classical music drifts out into the warm July air for a few seconds before the door closes with a bang._

_The man continues down a hallway past doors where people are dancing, eating, listening to an orchestra perform-the source if the music. He stops at an iron door and slowly unlocks all ten deadbolts, and inserts keys into two keyholes that he turns at the exact same time._

_The door swings slowly open with an ominous click._

_"Well well," he says in a dangerous voice, stepping inside. "I've waited a long time for this, Fleur."_

_"Who are you?" a scared voice, undeniably female, asks. "What do you want with me?"_

_There is silence; then a rustling noise and a scream that quickly turns into a spluttering laugh._

"CUT CUT CUT CUT CUT, what the heck do you think you're doing, Angel? You're scared, don't laugh like that. And-Dylan, is that a clown nose you're wearing?" The director, Sam, jumps down from his chair, megaphone in hand. "Honestly, you two drive me crazy, playing pranks on each other like that."

He grabs the red nose and pulls it off with a pop, before throwing it at the nearest cameraman. "Now, scene 8, redo."

Just when I'm about to burst into the scene in my super awesome ninja outfit the lights go out and everyone is plunged into complete darkness.

"What the-"

A hand covers my mouth, and an arm quickly traps me in a headlock. "Don't move," a deep voice murmurs in my ear.

_This guy totally doesn't know who he's dealing with._

One kick and two elbow strikes to the face later, I'm outside and flying so high the people below look like tiny ants. But then, to my surprise, another person comes streaking out of the building we were in, flapping black wings.

_Could Fang have been trying to kidnap me?_ I wonder for a moment. But then I notice that the wings aren't feathery. They're more like bats'.

"What are you?" I ask the teenage boy with bats wings, who is now circling me. "Why did you try to kidnap me?"

He only grins, showing a missing tooth- my handiwork, probably- before charging at me so fast I would have been knocked out of the sky if a black blur hadn't suddenly jumped between us and punched him.

"Fang," the boy hisses, spitting out yet another tooth.

"Hey there, Ari," my stalker says rather cheerfully.

The wind is suddenly much stronger now, and two groups of winged people appear.

Nine bat-winged teens hover behind Ari, and another group of four bird-winged people have taken up a defensive stance around me and Fang.

Ten to six, I think to myself. Not very good odds. And then: when did I count myself to be part of this group?

**A/N: More characters, more fights, more Maximum Ride-ness. Who are these mysterious bird people? Guess in a PM or review! Though it might be a tad bit too obvious...**

**Thanks for all your encouraging reviews!**  
**Happy New Years!**

**~Winter Tiger, signing out**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Um...um...it...wasn't the flock... Don't kill me! *hides behind Iggy***

**In my defense, it was kinda obvious to me since i had the plot all planned out kind of. And I kind of count Dylan as part of the flock... But then I realize that I didn't mention age or gender...so...yeah.**

**This was supposed to be an early (like way back in January) update but life happened :/**  
**So anyways~dedicated to cutiepie5514/CakeIsAGoodFriend for a super belated birthday present. Dude, we totally nailed the element song.**

**Thank you to EVERYONE who reviewed! Love you guys!**

**Chapter 6**

These bird people surrounding me are teenagers I've never seen before. Two boys and two girls.

"Who are these people, Stalker?" I ask Fang.

"My team. Come on, me, Ratchet and Holden will surround the demons."

_They're demons?_

"You guys attack from above and below."

The boys zoom off, and I start to fly higher when one of the girls grabs me and pulls me towards an alleyway.

"Hey, wait, shouldn't we be helping?" I ask.

"Fang's code lingo. Don't worry, we know what we're doing," the girl says with a smile. "Come on, Star."

"But-"

They shove me into a doorway and cover my mouth, looking around anxiously. "Just stay here for a minute," they whisper in sync, and then they disappear.

Even though the sun is blazing outside on the open streets, this place is dark. I peer into the shadows.

_Is that shadow there moving...? Yeah. Maybe a cat..._

I shift forward a little, trying to see better, and a fist connects with my jaw, knocking me into a pile of trash bags.

Another punch lands from somewhere behind me, and I grab the arm, flip the person over and jam him into a doorway, then jump onto a nearby dumpster by kicking off the wall. For my role as ninja, the director had me practicing parkour moves. Besides, fancy shmancy distractions aren't a bad idea.

A sickening smell of ashes and rotten things starts to fill the alleyway as the shadows materialize. I realize they're actually demons, all sporting those huge ugly wings and sneers.

They close in, circling, and I look up to see if I can fly away but that route's blocked too by five demons on the roof.

As soon as the first few climb up and try to get me, I come to the conclusion that demons are just plain stupid. Why not just mob me instead of trying to do it one by one?

After what seems like ages, though, I'm starting to get tired and they don't seem to be getting less in number. In fact, it seems like more and more of them are filling up the alley.

And now they start to come in bigger groups so I'm having a hard time just staying on higher ground. Then they start overwhelming me with their attacks and one kick slips through my defenses. That's all it takes for me to slide off into their midst.

Everything turns into a mess of whirling and growls and sweaty limbs-_disgusting_.

"Star!" an enraged howl seems to shake the alley. "Kate! What the hell?"

"Traitors!" someone else shouts, and then a chloroform soaked handkerchief is clamped over my mouth and everything goes black.

xxXxx

"Max? Hello? Max, are you all right? Dammit, move it Gazzy. Hey, she's coming around."

Blurred shapes move around above me, and then I see the worried faces of my friends and Stalker.

"Max," Angel sighs in relief when I sit up, aching all over.

Fang starts pacing in the background, muttering to himself.

"We were worried," Iggy says, sightless eyes somehow staring right at me.

"Yeah, yeah," Nudge is practically bouncing. "Those thugs broke a lot of ribs and stuff."

"Thugs...?"

Fang turns toward me with a warning look, telling me not to spill the truth.

"Oh, right, the thugs. Yeah, they wanted a ransom or something."

When the excitement has finally worn off and everyone else is sleeping at the hotel, Fang and I fly up to the roof and talk. Somewhere between getting beaten up and trying to calm down the normal humans, I've started counting him as a friend.

And sometime before dawn, where Fang has been telling me all about ditching the rest of his team because of the traitorous Star and Kate, I start to realize Fang looked...good.

_Am I crazy or what?_

_Yes, you're crazy_, the voice in my head confirmed._ Really crazy. I mean, seriously, how did you know notice before? Fang is_ hot.

_I think you need to know what I mean by crazy,_ I sighed in my head. Not out loud, of course. _My definition might not be the same as yours._

_Nooooooooooo._

_Yeeeeeeessssss._

"Max? Earth to Max." Fang waves his hand in front of my face, and I turn my attention back to him, promising the voice we'd settle it some other time.

xxXxx

"We are going to Heaven," Fang proclaimed over a breakfast of bacon and eggs the next morning. Everyone was crowded in my room, for some reason. Eating the food I ordered from room service. Yeah, I just ordered more, but still. It was annoying.

"Mmhm..." Gazzy muttered, concentrating on a complicated-looking diagram while Iggy wired an even more complex box with little metal bits sticking out of it.

Angel sleepily slumped on the table, playing with her toast. "Right..." she said in between yawns, "I think there's a ride at Magic Mountain called that."

"Why do you want to go on a roller coaster so early?" Nudge called from the bathroom, where she usually stayed for about an hour, styling and putting on makeup and just being plain girly.

Fang seemed irritated that nobody really got it.

_It's too early to care about anything..._ I yawned and took another bite of eggs. After the talk with Fang I'd only gotten three hours of sleep before Iggy woke everyone up with a mini explosion.

"I meant_ the_ Heaven. As in, the place where angels live and stuff. And where people go when they die."

Gazzy snorted. "I'm not gonna die just to go on a roller coaster."

Fangs eyebrow started twitching.

"The heaven_ in the sky_."

"So you're saying you can get us there? I wanna see real angels," Angel said.

"What're you gonna do, fly us up there in an airplane?" Iggy said sarcastically. "I didn't know they had flights going to heaven. Heck, I didn't even know heaven had a freaking airport."

Fang glared, and then suddenly stood up, looking menacing in his all-black clothes.

"You wanna know how to get there, fine," he growled.

He took off his leather jacket with a dramatic whoosh.

Nudge trotted into the room and sat on the bed. "What did I miss?" she asked, applying another coat of lipstick.

The lipstick fell on the floor when she saw what looked like an avenging angel glaring at us.

**A/N: this wasn't that good but... at least it's not that late.**

**Go me. I rock at writing sort-of-not-really-cliffy-scenes... Maybe...**

**I suck at writing fight scenes though. :P Sorry**  
**Anyways- Max is a tough girl, but for the plot I had to make her go down. If I threw away the plot, though...then we'd have her kick some ass...**

**Go, plot bunnies, go! Let me make her beat up people next chappy!**

**Fax all the waaaaaaaaay... *echoes off in the distance***

**...that...was weird... Anyways... if you guys have any questions, write me a review or PM me.**

**~Winter, signing out ^-^**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Yes, it's short, but I wanted to get it out there faster :) And... yeah it's pretty horrible. But lately I've been swamped with projects and essays and homework. Didn't have much time... :/**

**Enjoy.**

The sky is light, light blue, red and orange and purple streaking across it. Clouds are spread out below me, soft and drifty and painted orange and red from the setting sun. And rising from these clouds are castles and spires and beautiful buildings, rustic and modern at the same time, made out of some kind of sparkling metal. People and angels stroll through the streets together, all busy and chatting. There doesn't seem to be any cars, though there are shuttles that go on elevated rails through the city. It looks like an alien/futuristic city from those space travel books.

"Angel City," Fang announces proudly, gesturing. "Capital of the Kingdom of Heaven, ruled by King Jeb II. Here we have human-friendly products, like human food and a rent-a-wing shop."

Nudge's eyes grow wide. "We can rent a pair of angel wings?!" She's been obsessed with me and Fang's wings since she saw them at the hotel. Since Fang just spilled our secret I showed them mine too, and then we explained everything, and then they decided to help. (Read: they wouldn't stop bugging us until we attached anti-gravity belts to them and flew them up to heaven) "Let's go Fang, come on!"

"To be honest, I really don't know why they would have human shops when you guys are the first humans to ever come here..." Fang shrugs and then leads us down a pathway that materialized out of thin air. It winds through a park, with trees and streams and flower fields.

_I'm getting hungry..._ A little farther down the path a guy and a food stand stand there. Weird, I think, and get pretzels.

"Wouldn't it be nice if there were unicorns here?" Angel asks grabbing onto my hand. "Fang, do unicorns visit heaven?"

"Ummm... I don't know, I've never seen one..." He looks to me, clearly uncomfortable.

"I wanna see unicorns," Angel says firmly, "let's go explore or something-" Her eyes widen when four unicorns step out in front of us, shaking sparkly manes and stomping their hooves a little. They're pure white, with long tails and beautiful extra-sharp horns. Angel and Nudge immediately go up to them and start petting and cooing.

Warning bells start going off in my head. What are the chances of us getting exactly what we want when we think it? There's something about this place...

"Oh my gosh! Unicorns! I wonder if there are dragons too? I'd love to see one!" Gazzy looks to the sky, as if there'd be one right there-but there is. A dragon circles over us, around and around, before landing and he almost trips in his excitement to get to it.

Fang laughs and joins him.

"Hey, Max." Iggy draws me away from the group. "Have you noticed it yet?"

"Noticed what? The fact that this place is weird?"

"It grants wishes. It gives you whatever you want." Iggy says. "At least I'm pretty sure. Because..." He pauses and I notice that he seems to be looking right at me. Which is ridiculous, because he's blind. "Max. I can see." Again, I'm proven wrong. Jeez. "I wished I could see and I can see you now, Max." He turns around and drinks in the greens and blues, the colors around him, a euphoric look on his face, as I stand there in shock.

"I see you've discovered the perks of visiting heaven." Fang stands behind me- I didn't even notice him before- with an unreadable expression on his face, surveying the happy people surrounding us. Squeals erupt when the others discover Iggy's new ability to see.

"It's nice." I can't help but smile when Iggy starts rushing around and staring at random things.

"Yes, and it's something that only visitors can do... Other angels have to go to Jeb, who then gives them a wish list. That's why we can't let the demons here. They would technically be visitors, so they could make all the bad things happen." For a second, I think he gives me a weird look- almost...regretful- but that's so not like Fang. I decide it's my imagination. Then he looks toward the city. "Let's go to the city and get the others some wings," he says, and then starts to round up the humans.

As I watch him, I can't help but notice (again) that he's hot even when handling unicorns, he handles kids really well, he's stoic most of the time, but smiles at Nudge or Angel's antics. All of which meet my criteria for What-you-need-to-have-to-be-a-hot-guy.

I blush when he catches my eye and smirks, then mouths, "I'll take you out for ice cream later."

At least, that's what I hope he said, because my lip reading skills aren't one hundred percent accurate. Though, with a quick wish, they can be.

**A/N: Teehee! I love leaving you guys hanging with not-really-a-cliffhanger endings.**

**I LOVE IGGY SO MUCH HE'S MY FAVORITE CHARACTER I'M SO GLAD HE CAN SEEEEEEEEE~~**


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